Rocks and Roots Trail Run Series, Part I Review

Fleet Feet Sports - Rock & Roots Trail Series 2014
This year my fiancee and I have my first two events of the year being the Rocks and Roots trail series. I originally signed up to do the 20K in January and the 30K and February. We completed the 20K in January but as life would happen, she will now be in Florida for the February event. The plan was to do the 20K together and the 30K at our respective paces. We have decided to lower the distance for the second event to better fit in our training schedule.

As for the first run of the series, which was a 20K for us (the choices were 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50K), it was a more challenging experience than what we expected. Instead of a trail run, it ended up being a muddy march for 12.4 miles. The race was on January 12th, which had many days of snow melt off the days prior and a rainy day just one day before it. This made for quite a muddy trail. But getting a wooden medal is worth it right? Is a wooden medal a wedal?

We went to check out the course two weeks prior to the event. It was Phase 1 of the Alum Creek Mnt Bike Trails. I have been familiar with these trails for quite some time using them for training the past few years. I also ran with a group there and met Rob Powell, the race director for the Forget the PR 25K and 50K (http://www.mohican50k.com/), a great race.

The day of our event for the R&R series went quite differently than expected.

Set up/Organized

The event was set up well with plenty of room at the start, volunteers for parking and running directions, and an easy packet pickup prior to race day. Once we arrived onsite, we were directed where to park. The only pitfall I saw with the base area was that they double parked some people. If you ran a 10K and the person parked behind you was doing a 50K, you might be there a while. I didn't hear of any problems like that but made sure to leave space so we could get out.

They had an easy to see start area, made announcements as to the starting waves frequently (10K and 20K had separate start times from the rest.) and an easy transition area for the aid station if you were doing multiple laps.

The Course

The course, as I mentioned, was Phase 1 of the Alum Creek Mnt Bike Trails. This is a single track trail that is approximately a 6 mile loop around one of the fingers of Alum Creek. It has rolling hills, nothing too steep or long, some wooden bridges and a few rocky areas or other "technical" areas for mountain biking. It also has roots, as the name states. As usual on single tracks, you need to keep an eye on your foot falls. What is usually a fairly easy to run trail was a mud pit by the second lap. The churning of so many feet on a narrow course with all the snow run off and rain of the days prior made almost every inch of it a sticky, soup-like mess.

Yes, that is her pant leg going down to her shoes that you can't see, because the mud is so deep.

The course was rough, especially the second lap and I can only imagine how it was on a third, fourth, or fifth. I don't blame Fleet Feet for the poor course conditions, but it would have been nice to be able to run this on a normal trail surface.

There were two aid stations along the 6.2 mile loop. The first was at 4.5 miles in and the second was at the finish/lap line. They had the regular gamut of trail running snacks: water, Gatorade, chips, pretzels, gummie bears and a few other items.

NOTE: The course was torn up to the point it made mountain biking very difficult to impossible in some areas. Fleet Feet has volunteered to help repair the trail and are looking to move the February race to the multipurpose trail at the same location. Well played on their part.


Swag in the Bag

One great thing about the trail series was the swag for signing up for both races. This included not only the standard racing tech t-shirt, but a very nice hooded sweatshirt as well. I have testimony that it is a very nice, warm hoodie. We also received a nice pair of Balega socks, a Mini Clif Bar and a hand held water bottle by Nathan. For two races and all that gear, $85 was one great deal. 

Bag full of swag.

Miscellaneous Items

Post race was the same aid table used during the lap breaks of the course. I did help myself to some chili after the race was over. It was decent and the warmth was welcome on that cold January day.

They had a small fire pit and some music for the spectators but not much else, which is common for trail runs.

I do look forward to the next run in the series. If any of you are looking for a good trail running series I would recommend this one. Good location, swag, and hopefully better trails without the deep mud. If you choose this race, or anything other, just make sure you do. Get out and GET SOME!